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Crackdown, the open-world, chaotic war-on-crime game that paved the way for the upcoming Crackdown 3, is now free to all in a generous bit of promotion by Microsoft. You can grab it now by visiting its store page, or seek it out on your Xbox 360 or Xbox One to add it to your library at no charge. The original Crackdown is one of the many great Xbox One backwards compatible games, so don't worry about digging up and plugging in your Xbox 360 if you want to give the ol' Crackdown a go.
Whether or not you played Crackdown back in the day - maybe you bought it for its bundled-in access to the Halo 3 beta? - this freebie is well worth checking out. Crackdown helped pioneer the possibilities of open-world games starring superpowered individuals, as your law-enforcing Agent leaps up buildings in a single bound and throws cars at fleeing gang members. The 2007-era visuals aren't going to floor anyone these days, but they're still plenty appealing thanks to the cel-shaded, comic book aesthetic.
The official announcement of the freebie on Major Nelson's site doesn't mention any kind of time limit on this free giveaway, so hopefully Crackdown will be free for the rest of forever - but you might want to grab it sooner rather than later just in case. Wreaking havoc in Crackdown 1's Pacific City could be the perfect appetizer to the mayhem you'll unleash in Crackdown 3's New Providence - or hell, you could just treat the game like a Crackdown 3 demo to see if you enjoy urban heroics featuring plenty of high jumps, rocket shootouts, and collectible Agility orbs. As a matter of fact, it's worth revisiting Crackdown just for the platforming aspects alone, as you fiendishly seek out every green orb in the city like an Agent possessed. You'll be hopping across so many rooftops, people should start calling you Santa Claus.
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